MONROE TWP. — The 45-year-old Monroe Township man who drowned Thursday evening while exercising in his family's in-ground swimming pool "was physically impaired from cerebral palsy," according to a release late Thursday from Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office spokesman Bernie Weisenfeld.

The man was pulled from the bottom of the nine-foot deep end pool by relatives after exercising a weakened leg, according to the release. Relatives applied CPR to the man but were unable to revive him.

"He was transported from the home in the 1000 block of Spruce Avenue by
ambulance to Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Washington Township and
pronounced dead at 6:06 p.m. A preliminary investigation by the Monroe
Township Police Department and the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office
concluded it was an accidental drowning," according to Weisenfeld.

A doctor had recommended exercise in the pool to strengthen
muscle weakness on the man's right side, family members said. The man also had asthma.

"Relatives who said they left him unattended in the pool for a minute or
two heard no calls for help. While he had spent most of the time
holding onto a side of the pool, he had put on goggles, which family
members said indicated he intended to swim across the pool," according to the release.